Picnic Day.

On Monday I went on a picnic with my mom, one of her best friends, and her friend's new son that she adopted from Ethiopia. Isn't he just the most adorable kid in the world? He's so full of energy and love, and has the cutest little voice in the world. He pushed me on the swings, chased squirrels like a madman, and blew bubbles like a pro- he blew a bubble then bounced it on his elbow more than twenty times! Isn't that insane?

Birthstone.

I grew up hating my birthstone, the ruby. Maybe it's the whole "wanting what others have" thing, but luckily I grew out of that because now I adore it. When my grandmother passed away she left each one of her daughters and granddaughters a ring. She left me a beautiful silver ring with a large amber stone. I've only worn it a few times, and have let my mom wear it for the past few years- it's a little too big for me and I prefer gold. Then the other day I was looking at the one my grandma left my mom, and I fell in love. It's a gorgeous 14K gold ring with rubies (well, my grandpa said they are rubies, but they may be garnets- either way it's gorgeous). My mom agreed to switch with me, and I'm pretty sure my grandma wouldn't mind considering how much I love this one.



I can't wait to get it resized so I can wear it every day. Isn't it gorgeous?

Disposable.

While spring winter cleaning her house, my mom found this camera for me. It was my dad's and they are letting me "have" it. My mom also found a bunch of expired disposable cameras that only had a few pictures taken on them. My brother made so much fun of me when I took one of them with us to Jackson this past week. "You have six cameras, and you are bringing that one?" Well, yes as a matter of fact I am, and I am very happy with my decision. Even though half the pictures didn't come out at all, the film didn't advance most of the time, and the ones that did turn out have a nice green vignette around then- I loved it.







I especially liked that when I went to pick up the film, the guy told me that none of them turned out & I probably wouldn't want them. It reminded me of my first Holga film experience.

Happy Birthday Mom.

I have the most amazing mother in the entire world. She is my inspiration in every aspect of my life. From what I wear, to the books I read, and the women I dream of some day becoming, she is who I look to. Happy birthday mom, I love you.

Family Photo Time.

Happy December!

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my family? Here are a few of my favorite pictures from Thanksgiving at my Grandpa's.





{Cousins}












{Brothers}


{Sister}


{Jordan & his favorite girl}


Isn't family time the best?

My Number One.

Last night I decided to spend this week blogging about all the things I am thankful for in my life. I know Jordan was already included in my family post, but I just have to say again how grateful I am to have found him. If you had told me five years ago I'd soon find my best friend and marry him shortly after, I would have laughed at you. But here we are. Here are the top five reasons why I'm so thankful for Jordan:

1. He is the sweetest, most gentle guy (when he wants to be). I think he might even be more sensitive than me, if you can believe that. He's always there for me when I need him, and he is my best friend.

2. He makes me laugh, even if it's just at how ridiculous he is. I mean honestly, do you know any other guy that loves Muppet Babies and listens to Metal? Yeah, I didn't think so. Plus, he's always got new jokes (some a little too inappropriate for my taste, but funny nonetheless).

3. He is reallyreallygoodlooking (read that with a Zoolander accent please). He also dresses nicer than me, not joking.

4. He loves kids and wants to start a family with me (some day soon hopefully). He is even going to let me name our daughter Dandelion, which is my dream.

5. We share the same faith and dreams in life. Yup, we were meant for eachother and no matter how hard things can get- because trust me marriage isn't all kisses and smiles- we will always be in love.

Little Reminders.

Isn't my mother beautiful?

Thanksgiving is such an important holiday, that I almost always take for granted. But this year, I'm determined to spend time remembering all that I have to be thankful for in my life. So what better way than to blog each day this week about all the wonderfullness (yes, that's a word) in my life- starting with my family of course. I hate to say it, but I think I have the best family there is. I mean come on, my two best friends are my husband and my sister. I also have the world's most loving and wonderful mother ever to walk the Earth. And of course, I can't leave out my Dad, who at one time mowed a peace sign into the field while he was in the Airforce (hello, can you top that story?!). And my two big brothers who drive me insane, but are the most hilarious and gentle people you will ever meet. Need I say more? I definitely got the luck of the draw when it comes to family selection and I thank God for that every day.

Here are a couple pictures I dug up from my parent's old photo albums:





So, what are you thankful for this holiday season?

She's Back.

Almost 12 days with no blog posts? That's pathetic. But then again, that's what grad school does to you. I'm surprised I made it out of last week alive. But it's okay I'm back, and better than ever. Have you seen the new blog design that Liz did for me? I'm so in love with it. Make sure to hop on over to Liz's blog & tell her how amazing she is.

And in case you are having a sad Monday, here are a couple pictures of my family (or technically my sister's) dog, Sandy:





Isn't she adorable?

It Runs In The Family.

I spent a lot of time this weekend editing pictures from the past few months so that I can get them printed. Which, I suggest you all do if you don't already. I used to keep my pictures on my computer, until I had a laptop break on me and I lost all my pictures from my freshman year at UCSB. I learned my lesson, and photo albums are my friend. I found a bunch of great ones that I missed the first time through, so expect lots of randomness on my blog coming up.

But I just had to share these. I'm such a nerd, in case you didn't already know. I have a hard time taking a serious picture, so almost every folder has at least one of me making a face like this:



But it's okay, my sister is a dork too. Too bad she looks cute making silly faces:



P.S. Jordan watched Masters Of The Universe (Yes, the He-Man movie) twice this weekend. Ridiculous.

Evil Mice & Business Cards.

For my brother's birthday (last year), I promised him business cards. Yes, it took me over a year to actually get around to designing them, but better late than never. I think they turned out awesome, and the details in his artwork are so clear. We used Print 100 for these and for Jordan's, which we just sent in to get printed. I promise to share those as soon as they get here.

Speaking Of Artists.

I'm not sure if I've shared any of my brother's artwork here before. I'm also not sure if I mentioned the part about being from a family full of talented artists, and me being the only one without any real artistic talent. Yeah, it's depressing. My sister is an amazing designer, my dad is an architect and can paint/draw the most beautiful images (I will share someday), and my brother draws the most intricate and interesting designs/pictures you've ever seen. I also have an uncle that makes sculptures and dolls, two other uncles that are photographers, and an aunt that used to make gorgeous silver jewelry. Annoying, huh?

Here are a few of my brother's latest pieces. He sent these to me yesterday because I'm in the middle of making his business cards (they were his birthday present last year and I've been slacking just a bit). You can see more of his artwork on his Yessy site.

Wedding Snapshots.

Here are a few pictures from the wedding this weekend, they speak for themselves {especially the last few}.























By the way, Hannah made Holly's wedding dress. Even though she's my sister, I still get blown away by how talented she is.